52+188

Good morning... or afternoon... or midnight.. I don't actually know what time it is anymore.

First of all, I love Dulles, the vintage and quirky vibes are awesome, but does it have to be in the middle of nowhere? It took me a full 3 hours to get from downtown Baltimore to Dulles. I could've flown round trip to Boston by then.

Anyways, I'm here at Flughafen Zurich, having just arrived on UA52, operated today by "High J" 767 N662UA. "High J" is a crazy cabin configuration, and I personally think it makes those of us who are seated in the economy cabin feel a lot better since there are way fewer of us and the plane just feels less cramped. Also, the disembarkation is deceivingly quick, since over half the length of the plane is dedicated to 46 Polaris suites.

For the more exciting leg of my trip, I'll be flying on HB-JMB, one of four remaining Swiss A340-300s, all the way to Shanghai Pudong. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least slightly disappointed that the flight isn't gonna be operated by HB-JMA, in the LXmas special livery with its Rudolph-esque red nose. Still though, the prospect of flying on an A340 in their last days is quite exciting. Unfortunately, my business class upgrade bid was rejected, so I'll be seated in seat 44K in the economy cabin. This will be a flight to remember for sure.

Merry Christmas y'all!